VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY
First Claim
1. A method of instructing a learner via a computer communications network, the method comprising:
- co-developing a learning module by an online course provider and a learning institution;
hosting the learning module on a server, wherein the server is accessible via a computer communications network;
tracking learner access to the learning module;
acknowledging satisfactory completion of activities comprising the learning module; and
compensating the learning institution relative to the number of learners who access the learning module.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for enabling an established learning institution, such as a first tier college or university, to leverage intellectual capital through licensing and co-developing course content with a Virtual University. The Virtual University develops and markets educational modules presented via a computer communication system. This invention can increase exposure of a professor, course content, and other intellectual capital, to a larger student population separated by time and distance. It can permit multiple learning institutions to participate, with governance and control afforded to each university according to agreed upon guidelines. A Virtual University according to this invention can provide for flexibility in compensation and permit unlimited business arrangements between a university and an institution proffering the educational modules. Compensation arrangements that provide adequate economic participation and reward can include, but are not limited to, cash payments, royalties, minimum guaranteed income, stock and stock options. They may also provide protections for the participating university, including seats on the Board of Directors and other appropriate measures. The system can provide a means for tracking and measuring the use of modules, measurements can be used to calculate compensation. The present invention can avail a traditional a campus based learning institution to a potential market for intellectual capital that is limited not by distance, but by the constraints of a computer communication network utilized. Consumers, embodied as individual students, corporate clients, charter schools or other learner groups can be from varied geographic locations and access the Virtual University system on a basis timely to their particular needs.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of instructing a learner via a computer communications network, the method comprising:
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co-developing a learning module by an online course provider and a learning institution;
hosting the learning module on a server, wherein the server is accessible via a computer communications network;
tracking learner access to the learning module;
acknowledging satisfactory completion of activities comprising the learning module; and
compensating the learning institution relative to the number of learners who access the learning module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer communications system for managing a configuration of learner modules, wherein a learner module is co-developed by a learning institution and an online learning module provider, the system comprising:
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a computer communications server accessible with a network access device via a computer communications network; and
executable software stored on the server and executable on demand via the network access device, the software operative with the server to cause a learning module to display on the network access device, wherein the learning modules comprise intellectual capital owned by said learning institution. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. Computer executable program code residing on a computer-readable medium, the program code comprising instructions for causing the computer to:
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incorporate intellectual capital owned by a learning institution into a learning module presented by an online course provider;
serve the learning module on a server accessible through a computer communications network;
track the access of a learner accessing the learning module;
acknowledge satisfactory completion of activities comprising the learning module; and
compensate the learning institution relative to the number of learners who access the learning module. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 24)
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22. A method of interacting with a network access device so as to provide instruction to a learner, the method comprising the steps of:
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accessing a server on a computer communications network, wherein the server is hosting learner modules co-developed by a learning institution and a Virtual University;
performing activities relating to the a learner module accessed; and
submitting cognitive artifacts resultant from the activities performed.
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23. A computer data signal embodied in a digital data stream comprising data including education modules, wherein the computer data signal is generated by a method comprising the steps of:
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incorporating intellectual capital owned by a learning institution into a learning module presented by an online course provider;
serving the learning module on a server accessible through a computer communications network;
tracking the access of a learner accessing the learning module;
acknowledging satisfactory completion of activities comprising the learning module; and
compensating the learning institution relative to the number of learners who access the learning module.
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Specification